Silencing the Voices: One Woman's Experience with Multiple Personality D

Even today, Multiple Personality Disorder(MPD) challenges psychologists and health care practitioners. One common denominator MPD patients seem to share is childhood trauma, usually sexual and/or physical abuse. Children use the natural human ability to "disassociate" when the pain or trauma becomes more than they can bear. After the body has been hurt, the child may no longer feel the pain because the mind has found "a safer place to be." In MPD "alters" or "other personalities" emerge; they may be male or female, child or adult, extrovert or introvert. This book is the journey of Jean Darby Cline from childhood abuse at the hands of her father, verbal abuse in her first marriage, and diagnosis as a "multiple" to therapy and healing with the help of Jack M. Reiter, M.D.,P.S.As the book will reveal, the healing process can be as painful as the childhood abuse. During therapy, the patient often relives the memories and pain of the abuse. Often MPD patients are not aware, prior to therapy, of the multiples living inside them. They may realize there is a problem but not know exactly what the problem is. Jean Darby Cline exposes her feelings, fears and pain, and gives the reader a true account and inside view of what it is like to live with MPD. In her case, she had three alters, but it is not uncommon for patients to have many, many more as was the case in the book, "Sybil."If you want to learn more on MPD, I would highly recommend "Silencing the Voices" as well as, "First Person Plural" by Cameron West(see my review.)Both are excellent books on the subject.

In doing research about Dissociative Identity Disorder I was referred to this book. It clarified so many things about the disorder, how it works, how if affects everyone from the patient to the family and how it can be cured. I highly recommend this book! It's a wonderful story of support and recovery and also gives a graphic depiction into the mind/life of an abuser; through her father's actions. Jean has done a good job of relaying her experiences to the world.

A very realistic witnessing of what sexual abuse means to a child, and a very vivid description of MPD. What I find also very interesting is the description of the mother's attitude of not willing to believe that this all has happened. This book certainly required an unbelievable courage to her author. By the way : easy to read, even if one is not a native speaker of English

As the spouse of someone with MPD, I have searched in vain for information and even support in dealing with this disorder on a daily basis. At last I found someone that describes the things my spouse went through and shows me that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you so much Jean!!!

A friend asked me to read "Silencing The Voices". When I started reading I was doing it because my friend had asked,very shortly I was reading because it was a wonderful book that I found difficult to but down. I can recommend "Silencing The Voices" to anyone who enjoys good reading!!!